The World

A convoy of seven Soviet-made trucks containing 17 defecting Nicaraguan soldiers fled across the border near the Honduran checkpoint of La Fraternidad, 100 miles southeast of Tegucigalpa, a Honduran military spokesman said. He said the crossing was at a point about 30 miles north of maneuvers being conducted by 450 U.S. National Guard troops from Texas. A U.S. Army spokesman said no American troops were involved in the defection.